Amalie
“My Son the Fanatic”
The short story “My son the Fanatic” is going to be my starting point for this essay. I am going to give a brief summary of it, and explain what the main conflict and what the basis of it is. Lastly I am going to describe how the short story is relevant in British society today.
“My son the Fanatic” was written by Hanif Kureishi and published in 1994. The central conflict in the story is centred around the father, Parvez and his son, Ali. In the story Parvez is growing suspicious of his son because he is throwing out his possessions and is acting out of character. Parvez first suspects that his son is doing drugs, however this turns out not to be true. In the end he finds out that Ali has become deeply religious, and he that follows the Koran like the law. Ali insults a close friend to Parvez, a prostitute called Bettina. Later they have an argument at a restaurant, where Ali shames Parvez for drinking, and Parvez ends up smashing a plate out of frustration. The story ends tragically with Parvez beating up his own son.
Even though the title read “My son the Fanatic”, I would argue that they are both fanatic. Parvez is a migrant from Lahore in India to England, and he has absorbed the British culture completely. He is fanatical in the sense that he can only understand his own, Western, …show more content…
Ali is presumably in his late teens, and he might have a typical “teenage rebellion”. Maybe the consequence of Parvez dismissing religion entirely, has led Ali to reach out for it. Ali might feel that his father does not understand him, and this has resulted in him turning to religion instead. Parvez on the other hand might be to selfish and controlling, in thinking that they both shared the same values. Parvez might assume that Ali cherished the British cultures as much as him. They both misjudges each other, and they would resolve many of their problems if they had open
“My Son the Fanatic”
The short story “My son the Fanatic” is going to be my starting point for this essay. I am going to give a brief summary of it, and explain what the main conflict and what the basis of it is. Lastly I am going to describe how the short story is relevant in British society today.
“My son the Fanatic” was written by Hanif Kureishi and published in 1994. The central conflict in the story is centred around the father, Parvez and his son, Ali. In the story Parvez is growing suspicious of his son because he is throwing out his possessions and is acting out of character. Parvez first suspects that his son is doing drugs, however this turns out not to be true. In the end he finds out that Ali has become deeply religious, and he that follows the Koran like the law. Ali insults a close friend to Parvez, a prostitute called Bettina. Later they have an argument at a restaurant, where Ali shames Parvez for drinking, and Parvez ends up smashing a plate out of frustration. The story ends tragically with Parvez beating up his own son.
Even though the title read “My son the Fanatic”, I would argue that they are both fanatic. Parvez is a migrant from Lahore in India to England, and he has absorbed the British culture completely. He is fanatical in the sense that he can only understand his own, Western, …show more content…
Ali is presumably in his late teens, and he might have a typical “teenage rebellion”. Maybe the consequence of Parvez dismissing religion entirely, has led Ali to reach out for it. Ali might feel that his father does not understand him, and this has resulted in him turning to religion instead. Parvez on the other hand might be to selfish and controlling, in thinking that they both shared the same values. Parvez might assume that Ali cherished the British cultures as much as him. They both misjudges each other, and they would resolve many of their problems if they had open